Re: the 97% rule and american education standards (LONG)

Tim Byars (tbyars@cris.com)
Sat, 06 Apr 1996 18:41:07 -0800

At 09:19 PM 4/6/96 -0500, Rohit Khare wrote:
>> U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, APRIL 1, 1996 WHAT KIDS WILL HAVE TO KNOW SEE IF
>> YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH TO COMPETE WITH STUDENTS AT A WORLD-CLASS LEVEL
>
>You *sure* you weren't just being taken in by another Fool's joke, Adam? :-)
>
>> Some criteria are so
>> tough even Ph.D.'s complain they can't meet them.
>
>Yeah, I can say I know a few PhD whiners and PhDs to be...
>
>> 4TH GRADE
>>
>> READING & WRITING. Three in 4 students can't meet suggested standards. Only 7
>> percent can write a persuasive essay about a topic like this: Why should
>> children be allowed to watch TV?
>
>Let's see, in 4th grade, in a school system in the middle of the San Fernando
>Valley, I was already expected to write a "report" every month. A few of my
>favorites were a lengthy biography of Enrico Fermi (I remember this becaus it
>was the first report I did on my new Apple //c), a report on the Dodo bird
>(... because I brought in a Kiwi fruit to explain the bird's color and
>texture, and the class didn't pick up the fact that the *bird* is extinct),
>and a biography of Charles Schulz (it was the last of the year, and I fought
>with my mom about NOT showing it to her, and got a B as a result -- which I'm
>quite proud of!). As a result, I was skipped out of fifth grade...
>

Obviously this is Elitist computer jargon. I happend be a fine student in
school until high school where girls, drugs, sex, beer, cars, and other
things got in the way. However I can certaintly understand facist writings
when I see it. Lets look at this a little closer. . .

>Let's see, in 4th grade, in a school system in the middle of the San Fernando
>Valley, I was already expected to write a "report" every month. A few of my
>favorites were a lengthy biography of Enrico Fermi (I remember this becaus it
>was the first report I did on my new Apple //c)

4th grade, suffering in a smog laden land of surburbia, using an Apple Computer

>a report on the Dodo bird

uh-huh, this needs no further explanation

>>and a biography of Charles Schulz

Cartoon creator...

So the translation of the quote is, "if you are brain dead to the level of a
forth grader from oxygen starvation, an Apple computer is all you will need,
although most people will go around behind your back calling you a Idiot
(dodo) and you will only look at computers as things with pretty little
cartoon icons."

Sheesh.. you guys think your Soooooooo smart... :-)

Tim

--


There are no incurable ills      |  There are no believable Gods
 There are no unkillable thrills |   There are no unreachable goals
  There are no unbeatable odds   |    There are no unsaveable souls
                                    . . Osbourne
                             e-mail tbyars@cris.com






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